Israeli and US officials are preparing to build Gaza’s first experimental community. Blueprints describe a ‘case study’ under monitoring, where residents are handpicked by Israel. Al Jazeera’s Soraya Lennie explains why it’s causing concern.
African football’s governing body has issued fines worth more than $1m and banned Senegal’s coach and Senegalese and Moroccan players over a shambolic African Cup of Nations (AFCON) final that involved a walk-off protest by one of the teams, fans trying to storm the field and fights among journalists.
The bans, announced on Thursday, apply only to African games and not the World Cup, which kicks off in June and which Senegal and Morocco have both qualified for.
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The sanctions announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) include fines totalling $615,000 for the Senegalese Football Federation and $315,000 for the Royal Moroccan Football Federation for unsporting and improper conduct by their players, coaching staff and supporters, among other offences.
At the January 18 AFCON finale, Senegal’s players walked off the pitch, led by coach Pape Thiaw, in protest against a penalty awarded late in regulation time to the hosts, Morocco. Thiaw, who last week defended his side’s actions, was banned for five African games and given a fine of $100,000 for bringing the game into disrepute, the African confederation said.
The game restarted after a delay of about 15 minutes. Morocco missed the penalty, and Senegal won the African title 1-0 after extra time.
The heated final in Rabat also saw supporters trying to storm the field, Morocco’s and Senegal’s players scuffling on the sidelines, reporters from the two countries fighting in media areas and a bizarre sequence in which Moroccan ball boys tried to seize a towel being used by Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy – in an apparent bid to distract him and help their team win the continental title.
That behaviour by the home team’s ball boys led to a $200,000 fine for Morocco’s federation, which will be a cohost of the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal and has come under scrutiny for the chaotic African final.
That behaviour by the home team’s ball boys led to a $200,000 fine for Morocco’s federation, which will be a co-host of the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal and has come under scrutiny for the chaotic African final.
Morocco was hoping to host the 2030 World Cup final in Casablanca at the Hassan II Stadium, set to be the largest football arena in the world with a capacity of 115,000 people after its planned completion in 2028. But this month’s African final reflected badly on it.
Morocco coach Walid Regragui said the game had given African football a “shameful” image.
Senegalese players Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr were banned for two African games, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi was also banned for two games with one suspended and Morocco’s Ismael Saibari was banned for three games and fined $100,000 for unsporting behaviour.
CAF dismissed an appeal by Morocco to have the result cancelled and Morocco declared the winner because of the Senegalese walk-off.
The game even strained diplomatic ties between Senegal and Morocco, prompting government officials in both nations to pledge to stay friends and call for calm. In Morocco, rights groups denounced what they called hate speech targeting sub-Saharan African residents in the country.
Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said on an investment-related trip to Morocco days after the game that the reaction to it should be seen as “emotional outbursts produced by fervour and not as political or cultural rifts”.
In a further blow to Morocco’s 2030 FIFA World Cup ambitions, the president of Spain’s football federation declared on Tuesday that his country would be hosting the final.
As preparations accelerate for the partial Israeli reopening of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, a simmering dispute has erupted between Egypt and Israel regarding which and how many Palestinians may leave and return.
Many are seeking urgent medical attention that cannot be found in a healthcare system decimated by Israel in its more than two-year genocidal war. Others want to reunite with family or pursue an education, all put on hold because of the war.
According to a report by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan on Wednesday, Israeli negotiators have presented a condition regarding the flow of travellers: that the number of Palestinians leaving Gaza and entering Egypt through the crossing must exceed the number of those permitted to enter.
The broadcaster reported that Egyptian officials rejected this asymmetric formula, insisting on an “equal ratio” of entries and exits. Cairo reportedly fears that Tel Aviv’s position is a calculated attempt to engineer emigration and permanently reduce Gaza’s population.
While North Sinai Governor Khaled Megawer affirmed to local media Egypt’s operational readiness “for all scenarios”, the technological mechanisms being imposed on the ground suggest a system designed to filter the population.
While Kan reported on the dispute over numbers, the Israeli news site Ynet revealed the technical details of the proposed operation, which suggest a crossing that operates on a double standard.
According to the website and security sources, all travellers must be vetted by Israel’s Shin Bet security service 24 hours in advance. But the actual crossing process differs sharply by direction. A European Union monitoring mission is also expected to be on hand, but its role is unclear. Here is the reported plan:
This structural disparity has raised alarm among observers. Major General Samir Farag, former head of the Egyptian army’s Morale Affairs Department, told Al Jazeera that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to bypass the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access concerning the Rafah crossing.
Farag said the Israeli proposal involves opening Rafah “in one direction” for exit only as part of a “displacement” agenda – a move he said Egypt has “categorically rejected”.
Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, director of the Palestinian Institution for Media, argued that this setup, often referred to as “Rafah 2”, is not a border crossing in the traditional sense but a “sorting platform managed with a mentality of forced displacement”.
“Israel is making exit relatively easier via remote monitoring while making entry a humiliating, physical ordeal at a military post,” Al-Madhoun told Al Jazeera. “They are engineering a system where people are encouraged to leave but are too terrified – or simply denied permission – to return.”
The proposed system marks a departure from the 2005 agreement, which designated Rafah as a Palestinian-Egyptian crossing under EU supervision, specifically to guarantee Palestinian sovereignty.
Security expert Osama Khaled warned that the implications of the new mechanism go beyond logistics. By inserting itself into the minutiae of the crossing, Israel would secure a permanent chokehold on this Gaza lifeline.
“This is comprehensive electronic surveillance designed to ensure a mandatory Israeli presence,” Khaled said. “It transforms the crossing from a sovereign gateway into a tool for political blackmail.”
The sharp focus on the Rafah crossing also has a darker side. According to comments by retired Israeli General Amir Avivi, who still advises the military, Israel has cleared land in Rafah to construct an enormous facility to entrench its military control and presence in Gaza for the long term.
Two US federal agents involved in the fatal shooting of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti during an immigration raid in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave, as fallout from the most recent killing of a US citizen continues to cause outrage. Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo explains.
As the United States pushes its ‘America First’ agenda, its partners are edging towards China and new alliances are being formed.
It was built on democracy, open markets and cooperation – with America at the helm.
But the rules-based global order created after World War II is now under strain. Conflicts are rising. International rules are being tested. Trade tensions are escalating. And alliances are shifting.
At the centre of it all is US President Donald Trump.
In just a few short weeks, he’s captured Venezuela’s president, vowed to take control of Greenland, and threatened to slap tariffs on those who oppose him.
Meanwhile, China is presenting itself as a stable partner.